


Dreaming of a White Christmas

by marauders_assemble



Series: Marvel Femslash Bingo 2020 [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Established Relationship, F/F, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Reunion, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28254312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marauders_assemble/pseuds/marauders_assemble
Summary: A few months after Civil War, Natasha still hasn't resurfaced, and Maria is working late on Christmas Eve to avoid dwelling on the fact that she still has no news. However, she gets a surprise visit that turns her evening around.
Relationships: Maria Hill & Pepper Potts, Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov
Series: Marvel Femslash Bingo 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963177
Comments: 2
Kudos: 85





	Dreaming of a White Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Marvel Femslash Bingo, prompt was holiday
> 
> So I had actually planned something else entirely for this fic, but then I had this idea and my brain just kinda ran with it. I hope you like it!
> 
> Happy holidays everyone!

“Maria?”

Maria looked up from the files she was currently reading to realize Pepper was standing in the doorway of her office, appearing mildly surprised. 

“Pepper, hi,” she answered with a smile. “Are you heading out?” 

Her boss stepped into the room. “I was, but I thought everybody had left. What are you still doing here? It’s Christmas Eve, you should be celebrating, not going over—” she picked up a document from the stack “—employee performance reviews!” 

“It’s fine, really, I just figured I’d take advantage of the quiet to catch up on everything. It’s so unusual to be able to actually work on something without getting constantly interrupted.” That was absolutely not an excuse, she wasn’t avoiding going home at all. 

“You know you really don’t have to, right? You’re already the most efficient person in this place.” Maria smiled. The workload was nothing compared to SHIELD, but with the work she was doing for the Avengers and Fury, she was glad to be able to stay on top of everything. “Also, I meant to ask you, but it completely slipped my mind, do you want to come to Christmas dinner tonight? Tony and I are having Rhodey over, we’d love it if you were there too, if you don’t have any other plans,” said Pepper. It would have been so easy for her to slip into condescension. Working at 8 on Christmas Eve didn’t exactly scream “exciting social life”. However, she didn’t, and Maria was grateful for it. Her boss—her friend seemed genuinely eager to have her there, which is why she hesitated a few seconds before answering. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll just finish this up and head home.” 

Pepper frowned. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” She forced a chuckle out. “Really, it’s fine, Pepper. I’ve never been one for Christmas anyway.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. Growing up, Christmas used to mean hiding out in the attic and hoping that her father, drunk out of his mind, didn’t find her. Afterwards, neither the army nor SHIELD had done anything to bring out her more … festive side. 

However, these last few years, things had been different. After Natasha and her had started dating, she had come to realize that the spy loved Christmas, though she wouldn’t admit it to anyone outside her inner circle (which, at the time, was pretty much just Maria and Clint). Resisting Natasha Romanoff in a Christmas sweater, sporting a fluffy Santa hat and humming Christmas carols under her breath was absolutely impossible, and she had found that spending the holidays with someone she loved was actually enjoyable.

These happy memories only served as a reminder of what was missing this year. Maria felt a familiar tug in her chest when she thought about her girlfriend, who hadn’t given any signs of life since the fight at the airport. She knew—she  _ knew _ —that Natasha had to be lying low at the moment, with half of the world’s agencies looking for her. Still, she couldn’t help but worry that something had happened, that the infamous Black Widow had spun her last web. And if she  _ was _ safe, then why hadn’t she given news to her girlfriend? It was very much like Natasha to disappear in times like these, but Maria had thought that she would have at least let her know—something, anything, to stop her from worrying so much. Heck, she could have helped; she might not have all of SHIELD’s resources at her disposition anymore, but she still had contacts all over the world, she could have lent a hand, if only— 

“Okay,” said Pepper, and Maria startled. She had completely forgotten her boss was still standing in her doorway. She ignored Pepper’s curious look (it wasn’t exactly like her to zone out) as the woman continued. “Well, you’re always welcome if you change your mind. And don’t stay here too late; you’re working too much.” 

“Says the ever-busy CEO,” retorted Maria, smirking. “But no, I’m almost done, I promise I’ll lock up as soon as I’m finished.” Seeing Pepper’s hesitation, she insisted. “Go. Enjoy your night. And … wish Stark and Rhodes a merry Christmas for me.” 

“I will. Merry Christmas, Maria.” 

Maria shot one last smile in her friend’s direction as she headed out and ran a hand through her hair. Glancing at the papers on her desk, she sighed. She could think of a thousand things better to do with her evening than reading those reports, but seeing as most of those involved a certain redhead, she dove back into her work. 

Eventually, the small words were no longer sitting still on the page, but rather seemed to be dancing before her. She rubbed at her eyes tiredly and glanced at her watch, noticing that almost two hours had passed since her talk with Pepper. She  _ should _ be going home, but seeing as it would bring up so many memories, she chose to instead go to the place she usually visited to mull things over. 

A few moments later, the cold air of the night hit her squarely in the face as she finally reached the roof. Getting closer to the edge, she took in the view. New York at night was always breathtaking, yet she couldn’t help but wish it was covered in snow. The Canadian in her felt that it wasn’t really Christmas if everything wasn’t white. It seemed fitting, in a way; this year, the holiday wouldn’t have felt complete anyway. She sighed and shook her head as she leaned forward on the railing, willing the cold to wash away her worries. 

A few minutes later (or so it appeared; this place had a way to make her lose track of time entirely), she tensed. Years of experience had taught her to sense when she was observed, but she hadn’t noticed anyone come up, and few people could successfully sneak up on her, especially since she hadn’t heard the door open. Instinctually, she reached for her gun and whirled around, ready to fend off an attack. However, her stance shifted drastically when she saw who was actually before her. 

There, standing casually with her hands in her pockets, was Natasha Romanoff, in the flesh. “I knew I’d find you here; you’re so predictable,” she quipped, smirking. “Miss me?”

The sound of the redhead’s voice seemed to kickstart Maria’s brain, which had short-circuited upon the unexpected visit of her estranged girlfriend. She breathed out slowly, leaning back on the railing, and analyzed the spy’s appearance. Despite her affected nonchalance, there was a tension in her posture and new creases between her eyebrows and around her mouth that hadn’t been there the last time they were together. She seemed thinner, especially with her small frame drowning in an oversized jacket, but she also had a … brittle quality, almost as if she bore so much weight on her shoulders that one wrong look could make the entire thing collapse, bringing the woman down with it.

Heart thumping loudly in her chest, Maria pushed herself upright, still remaining silent. She didn’t trust herself to speak right then, for fear of shattering the illusion. As she approached her girlfriend carefully, she could see the confident facade slowly fall, leaving behind a weary, unsure Natasha, who cast her gaze downwards for a long moment. When she looked back up, all assurance was gone, and she stared searchingly in Maria’s eyes. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but seemed to change her mind at the last minute and closed it quickly, waiting warily for Maria to reach her.

Maria felt as if she was in a dream; she couldn’t believe her girlfriend was actually standing in front of her after all these months. She inwardly cursed her shaky hands as she reached out to gently rest her hand on the side of the redhead’s face. Only when her fingers touched flesh did she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Natasha leaned into the touch, but kept her eyes locked into Maria’s, features etched with apprehension. Maria tried to convey as much love as she could through her gaze, as emotion choked her and prevented her from actually speaking.

However, when her girlfriend didn’t let her guard down, she did the only thing she could think of. She wrapped an arm around the redhead’s waist and pulled her closer, and kissed her gently. After a moment’s hesitation, her girlfriend responded softly, bringing a hand up to rest on the back of Maria’s neck. She could feel the tension melt away from the spy as her whole body relaxed in her arms. Eventually, they broke apart, foreheads resting lightly against one another. Maria could feel Natasha’s fingers playing with the short hair at her nape. After a while of simply relishing each other’s presence, Maria finally found her voice. 

“You’re here,” she whispered, still slightly disbelieving. “You’re really here.” 

“I am.” Natasha smiled, but there was that hesitancy again, clouding her beautiful eyes. She pulled away and took a couple of steps back, wrapping her arms around herself and looking away at the Manhattan skyline. “I wanted to come back before, I did, but I didn’t think it was safe, and I had to go with Steve and Sam, we had to figure out a plan, how to go about this whole fugitive thing, and frankly—” she let out a bitter chuckle, “—they needed all the help they could get. It’s not like Captain America ever had to hide from the government, right? Well, except for those few days during the fall of SHIELD, and even then, it was—” She interrupted her rambling abruptly and shook her head, gathering her thoughts. “But tonight was Christmas Eve, and I couldn’t…” She paused, then breathed out: “Couldn’t stay away any longer.” 

Maria reached out and grabbed her girlfriend’s hand, tentatively pulling her back in. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, I get it. We’ll take some time and we’ll figure it out. Together.” Natasha nodded slowly, offering her a small, but genuine smile. “But for now,” she grinned widely, the reality of the moment finally setting in, “Merry Christmas, Nat.” 

“Merry Christmas, Masha.” Maria’s heart seemed to be about to burst as her girlfriend nestled between her arms, allowing her to hold her tenderly. She dropped a delicate kiss on the top of the redhead’s fiery locks. She felt the spy sigh happily against her chest and smiled, content to stand there for a while. 

Eventually, Natasha broke the silence. “Look, it’s snowing.”

Maria diverted her attention away from her girlfriend to realize that indeed, the sky was filled with snowflakes twirling delicately around them. She beamed. “Looks like we might get a white Christmas after all.” Turning back to the woman in her arms, she noticed her shivering lightly. “It’s getting cold, we should go back inside.” 

Natasha playfully glared at her. “I’m Russian; I don’t get cold.” However, the way she pulled her jacket (A thin leather jacket. In winter!) tighter around her belied her words. 

“Sure you don’t.” She grinned, but softened her smile a second later. “Anyway, it’s getting late. Let’s go home,” she said, tugging lightly at her girlfriend’s hand. She came willingly, tucking herself under Maria’s arm, and let herself be guided. 

  
Softly, almost to herself, the redhead answered: “I  _ am _ home.” Maria simply pulled her closer, sighing happily. She really was. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Also, feel free to come talk to me on tumblr, I'm agentmaraudersassemble :)


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